Mmmmmmmm!
On December 8th every year, brownie lovers everywhere can celebrate, as today is the official day you are allowed to eat brownies all day long to pay homage to this unofficial holiday! Hurrah!
Originally from the United States, these little chocolaty treats came about at the end of the 19th century and have been popular ever since.
Brownies are a cross between a cookie and a cake- and the chocolate filled variety are a firm favourite but a ‘blonde’ brownie is not something to be sniffed at either. Made with brown sugar and no chocolate, the blondie proudly takes the silver medal.
In the late 1800s a group of ladies wanted a dessert for a fair that they were attending. Their requirements were a small cake like desert that could be eaten out of a lunch box.
A Chicago chef, who was working in the Palmer House Hotel at the time took on the challenge and created the first ever brownie, which had apricot glaze and walnuts. The Palmer House still serves the recipe to this day on their desert menu.
The earliest published recipes did not appear until 1904 in Laconia NH Home Cookery, the 1904 Chicago IL Service Club Cook Book, 1905 in The Boston Globe and in 1906 edition of The Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer.
The creation of the brownie was not because a chef accidently melted chocolate into biscuit dough, neither was it a chef who forgot to add flour to the batter.
It certainly was not a housewife who didn’t have any baking powder,
so she improvised and served her guest’s flattered cakes instead. These are the three main myths that surround the brownie but alas none of them are true.
So now we have educated you with all you need to know about this gooey indulgence, off you pop and buy or bake some and help us celebrate!
Chocolate Brownie Meringue Cake
Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie Recipe